I have good things about both places, so maybe the question should be, where should we NOT eatWe will probably play it by ear and eat wherever is closest when we get hungry, unless there are certain places to avoid...
Thanks for all the great food advice everyone!!
So I had started considering moving my trip up a bit... I know of several people who are going earlier (Hope, among them) and honestly, who wouldn't want their vacation to be a couple weeks closer?
HOWEVER... I have recently heard that Epcot does a "soft-opening" for the Food and Wine festival the day before (in this case Thursday 9/29)!!!
When I saw my name in your post, I almost cried! 
I know, its a horrible nightmare & I wake up soooo incredibly freaked out but its been a recurring nightmare so I just don't know! I can't figure out how to hold on myself & hold him into the boat as well. Its obviously freaking me out, so I'm not sure we'll do it. I might send my husband on it while Luke & I get a snack because I really want him to experience it.
AWWW!!! Thanks!!!
Lol, well now that I know our kids are almost exactly the same age, I am even more convinced we need a DIS meet, since I bet they would have tons of fun together!
We almost changed our trip dates to Sept 21-30th! I'm sooo serious! Wouldn't it have been interesting if I would've made our trip later & you would've made your trip earlier? And then, we STILL would've missed each other!
That would have been perfect!!! There is still a possibility i migth change my dates. I interviewed for a promotion here at my work, and if I get it, my hours/days off will completely change. If they do I will seriously consider changing my dates to earlier... actually the 22nd-26th because my new days off would be Sunday and Monday... it's all very complicated, but those are my backup dates.
Anyway, as of right now, we are keeping the current dates Sept 14-23rd. That stinks that we miss each other by just a couple days! But hey, you know my plans, they are constantly changing!!! Who knows what will change in the next 6 months so I'm not ruling it out completely that we might still run into each other!
So, the soft opening of Food & Wine! That was your big news! I have seriously been dying here not knowing what it was!!!!
I'm one of those people who go crazy not knowing things...I "almost" sent you about ten messages because I wanted to know so bad! But then I figured that when you wanted all of us to know, you would tell us!
I know it's not that exciting, but it's the one thing that's really keeping me wanting to go on those dates. I was all ready to move them up until I heard that! I am so torn! Of course since your dates aren't set in stone, it would be just my luck that yours would change anyways, so I guess I will wait it out and see where the "chips fall".
That's awesome that you get to experience Food & Wine's soft opening! I've always wanted to go to F&W or F&G...we actually were at F&G but it was before I knew anything specific about festivals & such...so we didn't even know we were there!
I think we will probably be at F&G when we got for Jack's 5th bday trip. I've heard it's beautiful, and I MIGHT have been there in 2006... I was there in March, but I don't remember anything about the flowers...
You HAVE to take pics of all the goodies that you eat while you're there! I remember reading past menus & everything just sounded soooo delish!!!
I am hoping the menus are similar to last year, I want to make lists of what I want to try.
So funny that you mention this because the other night, Luke had my tape measure & I said "Hey come here, I have to measure you!" He just looked at me like I was crazy. He said "38 1/2 mommy" because that's what he weighs & he thinks that all measurements are now 38 1/2! I said, "well hopefully you are 40" tall or more!" and he was exactly 40"!!!! I was so excited & he had no idea why!!! LOL
Jack was just shy of 40" in December. I am sure by September he will be there, but I bet he's not quite there yet. I guess I will find out in April at his check up!
Thanks for posting that list, it will help me out too! I went through all the rides & made a Microsoft Word document with the height requirements (I think I got the info from wdwinfo). I haven't really looked at the list yet though, I just copy & pasted the info from the website.
I'm looking forward to BTMRR and KRR. I'd like to ride Stitch because I never have, but Luke is afraid of the dark so I'm not sure. Maybe if its later in the trip once he's gotten used to the rides a little bit.
I am looking forward to BTMRR and KRR the most, other than Soarin'.
I'm not sure if we'll take him on Splash Mountain or not. I know they added the lap bars, but I've had about a million nightmares about him falling out & then the boat ran him over...
That is a crazy dream, but I used to ahve the same fear of falling out. I just am not a fan of log rides in general. For some reason I hate getting wet on rides. I am only looking forward to KRR because I plan on wearing a poncho!
After sitting here for the past few hours trying to figure out a schedule & ADR's, I am very jealous of your schedule & your "must do's!" Last June, on the days when we had ADR's at a specific time, I felt a little stressed. We're adding the regular dining plan this trip because we really want to eat good food & we got sick of hamburgers/fries last trip (or in my case fish/fries or chicken/fries). I'm soooo looking forward to the steaks & fresh fish & delicious breakfast buffets! I get hungry everytime I look over the menus. But I wish we had more of a "go with the flow" schedule. There is so much to see at the Beach Club & I think I could just stay at Stormalong Bay for 2 days straight!
I know what you mean about planning around ADR's. Our whole Dec trip was based on our multiple meals a day. In the future I will be sticking to 1 important ADR a day, so I can stress less!
I'm just hoping that since its the first trip we'll be taking with really low crowds, we'll get more things done in a shorter amount of time. I seriously need my relaxation time!!! I'm "almost" thinking about just getting rid of DTD & only going there if we need something to do one afternoon. I might change the schedule (again...lol) and put a waterpark in the morning & DTD in the evening. Maybe we should just relax & hang out at our resort before going to MNSSHP in the late afternoon. It will be Day 7 by then so we might need to relax! Ahhhh, the options are starting to drive me nuts!
I am planning on not doing anything specific before our MNSSHP. If we go to DTD, great, if not, I will live. We will definitely swim and nap, I really want to be able to stay late at the party. In the off season it is a lot easier to get things done in less time. And since you are paying for the upgrade to BC, I would definitely spend some time enjoying it!! My new motto is "There's always another trip..."
Anyway, I really like your plans! They sound great!!!
As I mentioned earlier, Jack has developed some alarmingly bad habits ever since watching Lilo and Stitch. I suppose I am to blame for letting him watch it, but it NEVER crossed my mind that a Disney animated movie could be *gasp* bad!
Has anyone else had a similar problem with young kids? Are there other Disney movies I should avoid!!! 
So Jack has picked up 3 bad habits from this movie, which he as only seen twice (we rented it on Netflix).
1. He has started "shooting" people. . If you recognized the move, it might not be as bad, but for people who don't, all they see is my almost 3 year old trying to shoot me... most recently in church!
2. He has started telling people he is going to kill them.
3. He has told people he hates them.
Jack always quotes/re-enacts scenes from movies. He has a pretty good memory for it really, and usually it's cute. But this is NOT CUTE. And he doesn't understand why it makes me so mad. And I can't figure out how to get him to stop!!!
Hey there! welcome to the world of mimics....
I normally just explain to him that is part of the movie or story and it is not nice for us to do things like that. Stitch or whichever character was being very bad and if he, Ashton, does not want to sit in time out he needs to only pretend like the character while watching the movie.
as for the kill and hate words they will pick those up in alot of places unfortuately...and they are hard to break.
After seeing how much make up work Devon had when we got back in December, I couldn't do that to him again! He was in tears trying to do this make up work and trying to keep up what he was currently learning when we got back... But at the same time that is the VERY reason why I asked his teacher for all this work before we left, but she wouldn't provide it to me, saying he'll make it up when he returns!!! 
Hey there! welcome to the world of mimics....
My DD23 was like that as a child and now so is DS4, Ashton. He quotes lines for a very long time now and I sit there...where did you get that? who taught Ashton that it is not very nice?
than I will see the clip of a movie (and normally a Disney movie) I really try to stick with disney, disney jr, and nick jr. But, even they have things that I just do not want my 4 year old going around saying or doing.
I normally just explain to him that is part of the movie or story and it is not nice for us to do things like that. Stitch or whichever character was being very bad and if he, Ashton, does not want to sit in time out he needs to only pretend like the character while watching the movie. So, now his new thing is (thanks! to Planet 51) do human's do that? because I am a human...or when he is playing he will tell me "mom I'm not human, I'm _____ " of course we still have to have talks about acceptable behavior when out in public and playing with friends.
as for the kill and hate words they will pick those up in alot of places unfortuately...and they are hard to break.
good luck! you are doing an wonderful job and it goes with the territority of growing up!
I think its at least good that you know where he got it from! Luke has been saying "shoot in the head" ALOT recently...and I have no idea where he got it from!!!
He's pretty much with me 24/7 so he didn't see a tv show or movie at someone else's house...that is usually my first guess, but not this time. I don't really allow him to watch anything except for cartoon type shows & movies (mostly Disney). Also, 9 times out of 10, I am in the same room with him while he's watching tv.
This one just really has me confused! I just wish I knew where he learned it from. There is so much violence, even on commercials, so I'm not sure if that's where he saw it or not. It just really upset me the first time he said it. I've never said that in my life & I've never heard any of my family or friends say it either. I definitely think he picked it up on tv, but I'm not sure what he was watching when he saw it.
I know what you mean about "hate"...my dad forbids that word from being said at my parents house! Adults are not even allowed to say it. We have never been allowed to say that word so I'm not even sure its in my vocabulary!
Luke always repeats things that he sees on movies/tv as well & I agree with you...its usually so cute!!! He just started "scaring" people whenever they come over to our house! But he also will tell the person "I'm a monster from the movie" and then roar at them. And then he mentions something about Sulley & Mike so most people know what movie he got it from.
I think as they get older, its harder for us to protect them from everything. And that makes me soooo sad!
Another issue I have is that both of my nephews are allowed to play with guns. I don't allow Luke to have any type of a gun. I even got rid of all his squirt guns last summer. I know it sounds a little harsh but its bad enough that he plays with them when he's at my MIL's house (that's where my nephew lives). I just explain to him after we get home that his cousin is allowed to have them, but mommy doesn't allow him to. He just recently started questioning me...everything is now "why mommy?"
Oh! And he recently started to love Toy Story! I really like the 3 TS movies too, but I'm concerned about Buzz Lightyear's laser gun, especially with Luke saying people are shooting each other. As of right now, he seems more concerned about Woody being missing or his arm being broken (remember the part of the movie where the guy is repairing Woody's arm with the needle & thread?) But last night, he tried to rip off his stuffed Woody's arm so I could fix it! I don't really want him ripping body parts off of things either! Yikes!
Onto another subject --- did Jack start the "I want everything" stage yet? I have been dreading this day for years!!! Both of my nephews do it constantly (one is 3 1/2 and the other is 4). I've been at the store with them & its ridiculous what they're allowed to get away with. My one nephew just starts throwing stuff in the buggy & when his mom says "no," he flips out & she gets embarassed so she gives in & buys it for him!
Recently, anything Luke sees on tv, he says "mommy I want that" or "mommy I want to go there." It's starting to drive me crazy! I think it started because my husband & I saw a Disney commercial on tv (they're on there all the time, right?!? LOL) and we said to Luke "do you want to go there and see Mickey Mouse?" We're trying to get him excited for the trip! Well, I think it backfired because now everytime a commercial comes on tv advertising a beach, a concert, a movie, etc. Luke says "can I go there?" or "will you take me there?" And just yesterday he started doing the same thing with ALL toy commercials! Yesterday we saw a commercial previewing a movie & said "now out on DVD." So, as soon as its over, Luke looks at me & says "Mommy I want that. I want that DVD."
I really, really thought that I taught him better than that! I made him give away a bunch of toys before Christmas & his birthday last year. I explained to him that there are kids that only have 1 toy or maybe no toys at all. I tried explaining helping others & he filled up a box & said "here mommy, give this to the kids." I also always take him with me when I make donations to Goodwill or the Salvation Army & I explain to him what I gave them & why.
Now that he's going through this "I want everything" phase, we are dreading all the gift shops at Disney! I hope he "outgrows it" before our trip but I've seen kids that are 10 and still going through that phase!
I've decided to just give him a few gift cards & once the money is gone, he's not allowed to get anything else. He can use his snack credits if he wants a food treat (like a Mickey bar, ice cream, lollipop, or whatever). Hopefully it will work, but how do you teach a 3 year old about the value of money??
Wish me luck! LOL
Oh how I miss those days.... Who am I kidding this is the first year I can't do this!
Steph, I totally agree with your thinking, while Plan C does push your trip back a month, with your cruise in May, 5 months between trips really isn't all that bad!
Plus later in Oct, the weather is a little cooler and you will get to enjoy both MNSSHP and F & W which you really wanted to do! It's a WIN, WIN!!!
Plus having a little guy at home, you're right you always want to have a day or two on hand just in case!
I am crossing my fingers for some sort of discount. It doesn't HAVE to be FD, but it would be nice. I called today to see if I might possibly have the latest FD pin attached to my name, but I don't. I haven't decided when I am going to make the change with Disney... I guess it wouldn't hurt to do it sooner rather than later.
Of course the other woman is someone I like, so it makes it harder, but we will both be happy for the other one. It does reinforce my decision to move my dates though. Our luck is continuing, since we are going on a cruise this spring with my family. My sister is graduation college, so we are heading to San Antonio May 13th and then we set sail from Fort Lauderdale May 16th for 5 nights. I am so looking forward to getting away and relaxing! I paid for our plane tickets (all $800 ) but the rest of it is on my parents (except I plan on paying for my extensive bar tab). Then Jack and I will go to WDW 6 months later... 
Plus it would probably be good if Jack didn't get too used to fabulous vacations every 6 months 
